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Another night, another bar that reeked of smoke and desperation, men and women in jerseys sitting as close to the televisions as possible. To this day, despite being in the United States for nearly three and a half years, the concept of American sports never impressed her. Then again, she never had been interested in football, which is not to be confused with American Football, in the first place.
Rya inhaled slowly, eyes closing. She already knew that there would be numerous people hovering at the bar, where televisions were strategically placed, which gave her incentive to pick up and play some pool. No tables were free, it seemed, but there was one that looked in need of a second player. The Brit made her way over, rolling her eyes at the combination cry of frustration and joy from whatever just happened on the television. The announcers said something about a goal.
Twenty or so minutes later when the game was over, Rya figured she'd brave the bar to get a beer. People packed by the counter, but she was small enough to slip through, standing shoulder to arm with an individual as she attempted to get the attention of one of the bartenders.
Usually crowds didn't get so worked up about hockey, or at least not nearly as much as people cared about football. But there was a decent crowd at the bar tonight, somewhere between the pool tables and the bar itself. Emmett had squeezed herself in early, wanting a good seat to catch a game and a few beers. She held her ground as the space got more crowded, fighting off the burly men that believed they were more interested in the sport than Stagfort's biggest Kings fan.
With the first period down, Emmett quickly ordered another beer for herself, taking a gulp before setting the dark brown glass to the counter, forearms pressed against the hard surface as someone pressed up against her side. She let out a groan, tired of having to shove guys away from the spot she claimed fairly, but when she turned to give a piece of her mind, she found it was not some gross dude.
"You watchin'?" Emmett asked, gesturing to the TV with the tip of her beer bottle.
She heard the groan from the frustrated individual beside her, but honestly, if they had an issue with her arm against them, they very well could fuck off. Rya's eyes were only on the beer that was being handed to her, that is, until she noted from the corner of her eye that the woman beside her spoke to her. She almost missed the question, but context clues made it pretty obvious that the blonde asked if she watched the game? Something along those lines, Rya figured.
The hydrokinetic shook her head slowly, pressing the tip of the bottle to curled lips. "Honestly, I have no fucking clue what's going on." In this case, she found no applicable reason to lie. If she did, then she'd be caught shortly after regardless. "Just here to play some pool and have a few beers is all."
Of course there wasn't another person of the same sex of herself here to watch the game. Emmett shrugged, cradling her beer as she leaned back. Dark eyes glanced towards the set of billiards tables, then to the television, and finally to the crowd of sweaty men that surrounded the two women. She lifted her own bottle to her lips, tasting the bitter liquid slosh in her mouth as she took a gulp.
"Mind if I join you?" Emmett practically invited herself over. She could watch from afar. The televisions were large enough and she'd been knocked around enough all night by space greedy dudes that she could use the little bit of extra space. Waving to the bartender, she asked for an extra beer just so she wouldn't have to make her way back to the bar when she finished the one she already had.
Rya could see the minimal shift of annoyance, for lack of a better term, at what she said. It didn't bother her enough, it seemed, because she requested to join a game of pool. Rya nodded, "Yeah, I think a table just opened up." Standing at the bar already became a chore, with some men pushing up against her to do exactly what she had, so she needed no reason to leave the crowd at all.
The Brit held her bottle and shoved her way back out of the hoard, towards the tables which, surprisingly enough, it looked like a game just finished up. The game played in the background, and it looked like the tensions were getting high, so the focus of most of the bar was back on the television sets. This breach gave the hydrokinetic enough time to slide and claim the table before anyone else could. Rya turned to the blonde, looking to see if she even followed. "Do you want to break first, or do you not care?"
Lazy steps followed the girl towards the open table. Now away from the bar, she sucked in a deep breath of old, musty air. It was refreshing in comparison to the crowd that had formed around the bar. Her fingers wrapped around a pool cue, free hand grabbing the bright blue cube of chalk. "You can break." Emmett offered, grinding some chalk into the tip of her cue before setting it aside to start racking.
Quick work of her hands had all the balls placed in the triangular shape towards one side of the table. She lifted the wooden guide, setting it aside before looking back at the girl. "Are we playing for cash or fun?"
Rya shifted and quickly ground the chalk against her own cue after the blonde set it down. The brit leaned against table for a moment and waited for the balls to be left alone, but just as they were, the woman brought up an interesting proposition. Are we playing for cash or fun? Did she want to spend any extra money on the prospect of losing? Then again, that implied that Rya might actually lose.
Immediately, her lips curled upward, "How much are we talking?" No reason to turn down a reasonable offer without knowing the details, after all.
Though the girl hadn't spoken yet, Emmett caught sight of her shift in expression. A grin. It made her eyebrows quirk upwards, and when she did respond, Emmett felt a tug at her own lips. Without faltering, Emmett reached into her pocket, hauling out a few crumpled bills. Dark eyes looked down, sorting them out quickly. The girl looked confident, it made the mechanic curious how well she could actually play.
"How's forty sound?" Nothing ridiculous, but high enough to make it interesting. She placed two bills on the edge of the table.
Forty. Rya brought out matching bills almost immediately, but kept them folded in between her index and middle finger, "I can do forty." She spent plenty of time playing on nights like these, but learned to never underestimate an opponent willing to put down a decent amount money. Some waved the cash without the skill to back them, but more often than not the hydrokinetic found a decent opponent and an interesting game.
Rya positioned the cue, leaned over, aimed, and shot. She watched the balls scatter, and a solid fell into a corner pocket. "Let's get this shit started, yeah?"
An agreement, and they were immediately off. Emmett gave a nod, hands wrapping around a pool cue as she used it to lean against and support her weight. Nothing like a little competition, and her eyebrows shot up as the balls scattered across the green surface. The sound of a ball sinking into the pocket caught her attention. "Off to a good start," she commented lazily, hazel eyes glancing towards the television briefly to insure she hadn't missed anything in the game she was more invested in.
When she looked back, she let her gaze linger a little longer on the form playing in front of her. "I'm Emmett, by the way." She introduced herself before the girl could line up for her next shot.
